Can I rejoin First Direct

gerardflanagan

I joined First Direct and Co-op for their joining payouts. I've preferred Co-op's service so want to shut down my FD account and get the £100 leaving payout.

Can I rejoin FD in the future though? If Co-op p1ss me off, I want to know I'm not blacklisted anywhere!

Gromitt

You won't be blacklisted, but you will not get any more payouts.

steve1980

No more payouts from FD. Although you know the security issue with the Co Op don't you?

Your internet banking details are not encrypted at all.

gerardflanagan

No I didn't know that.

I won't get any more payouts from FD whether I stay with them or not so that doesn't matter does it?!

So I could rejoin FD in a few months if I wanted to and they wouldn't have an issue?

YorkshireBoy

gerardflanagan wrote: »

...want to shut down my FD account and get the £100 leaving payout.

You'll need to have experienced some sort of (unresolved?) 'service' issue though to get the £100 leaving present.

What reason(s) are you planning to cite?

gerardflanagan

When I used the 'easyswitch' service it was far from easy. I left enough money in my old Lloyds account and the new FD to cover my credit card being paid off wherever my direct debit sat at the time. My direct debit was set to pay off in full. Anyway, I got a 'credit card unpaid' message from lloyds (who my credit card is with). I looked into it and my old DD had been disabled and my new hadn't been enabled! As such, I have an unpaid credit card fee against my name. The whole thing was very stressful and I had to chase them up about it. If I had known that would happen I wouldn't have bothered switching.
Co-op are the only bank I like at the moment and if they stuff something up, FD would be next in line which is why I wanted to confirm I coudl go back to them in the future if the situation changed.

Why are you saying I won't get any more payouts?! There aren't any more payouts to be had are there?

gerardflanagan

Bumpalatay

YorkshireBoy

People are telling you that you won't get another £100 joining incentive, but you knew that anyway didn't you? They make it plain on their website.

Re the £100 leaving present 'reason'. If I was FD I'd be asking why didn't you leave when they messed up...rather than waiting several (5 or 6) more months before using this as a reason?

gerardflanagan

Ah, yes, I obviously wouldn't expect another joining incentive.

Why are you putting reason in inverted commas?! The answer to that is quite simple and obvious. They guaranteed that their service would be so good I wouldn't want to leave. If I was unhappy they would pay me £100. I was unhappy but I had to wait £100 to get the £100 they promised me. It's simple, fair and makes financial sense. Why do you question it?

If I can find a credit card company that doesn't mind me using FD+ I may actually stay.

dbamanc

I have just tried to rejoin First Direct (used to have a joint account for the bills, got both the joining and leaving bonuses no questions asked).

This time round I wanted the account to I could open their ISA and get good interest on all my historic accounts. So I filled in the online First account application. Process never asked if I'd had one before but fully expected them to pick that up and not give me any more bonuses, fine.

Next thing, get an email saying I need to ring their call centre as I have been a past customer. After couple of minutes waiting it gets answered and I am asked for a password from four years ago and some personal information. Luckily I manage to guess both right

Six more minutes hanging on I get transferred to New Accounts and told I will need to undergo a telephone screening process taking 40 minutes! (on an 0845 number I've already been on for 10). Won't tell me why this is needed, only that it's "the rules". Also I have apparently been banned for life from applying for any FirstDirect products online, and the clear implication seems to be that I am suspected of attempting some sort of fraud. Don't know how as I never expected to get any of their bonuses and wasn't suprprised.

I made the point somewhat forecfully that, having been a previous customer in good standing, and them having admitted that they had "most of my details" on file, I failed to understand why this should make the re-joining process more protracted than for new applicant who would also (unlike me) get bonuses and no 0845 phone costs!

They said my points would be "noted" but there was no way round it so I said for the sake of 0.25% interest on my ISAs they could stick their account and I will happily keep banking with the Co-Op.

Now is this anyway for the supposed "top customer service" bank to be behaving? For all it's criticised, I left and rejoined Santander and its predecessors three or four times with no such issues and the Co-Op twice. So why are this lot so paranoid and pathetics about it?

henm2

"and I am asked for a password from four years ago and some personal information. "

Would the last time your details were updated date also from four years ago?
To comply with money laundering legislation amongst other requirements a bank has to have up to date details.
Since their fiasco in Mexico the banks within the HSBC group (HSBC, First Direct, M&S Financial Services) are even more paranoid about compliance issues than usual.